Survey on the opinions on climate change

Newsitem | 22-03-2012

PBL Netherlands Environmental Assessment Agency, in conjunction with the Royal Dutch Meteorological Institute (KNMI) and the University of Queensland (Australia), is investigating the range of scientific opinions about climate change. The objective of this study is to gain insight into how climate scientists perceive the public debate on the physical scientific aspects of climate change.

To this end, an international survey is being held among scientists who have published about global warming. Also invited are people who publicly have raised criticisms against climate science. Survey responses remain anonymous.

UPDATE on September 25 2012: At the end of this page you will find a link to a document containing the questions of the survey as taken place in March and April 2012. This document has been made publicly available after requests from a number of respondents. Please note the survey is no longer active.

Physical scientific aspects of climate change are a focal point in the public debate. Therefore, this survey is focused on these ‘IPCC Working Group I’ topics, as they form the foundations for further deliberation; for example, regarding impacts or response strategies.

Issues related to the role of climate science in society will also receive attention. The results and their analysis will be published on our website and submitted to a scientific journal. We anticipate this study to facilitate a constructive dialogue on the selected issues, between people of different opinion, and to help communicate these issues to a wider audience.